December is looming, and with its arrival there is always some disruption to regular opening and closing schedules, and that's even before we put the tinsel up (well, it is in my house, anyway). Outside of the 'festive' closures in the last week of the month – I'll bring you details of those nearer the time – there are two big changes to note: the National Archives of Ireland's Press Preview week and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland's Preservation Week. Here are the details:
NAI - Press Preview Week, Monday 2 December – Friday 6 December inclusive.
The Reading Room at Bishop Street, Dublin 8, will be closed to the public for the entire week. The free Genealogy Advisory Service will not operate, either. The suspension of normal services is to facilitate the annual Press Preview when reporters and researchers from the media assemble to view and review government records released under the 30-year-closure rule. (In January, the 1989 records will be released to the public, and it's traditional that the press gets advance sight of them to prepare features and reports for publication or broadcast in the New Year.)
The NAI (and its Genealogy Advisory Service) will reopen to the public on Monday 9 December at 10am (not the usual time of 9:15am).
PRONI - Preservation Week, Monday 9 December – Friday 13 December inclusive.
During this annual event, PRONI's Preservation and Collections Management staff get an opportunity to dedicate some time to the vital work that goes on behind the scenes. The knock-on effect means a reduced service to researchers. Document ordering and production will be suspended throughout the week, but the Search Room and self-service microfilm facilities will be available as normal in the public search room.
Regular service will resume on Monday 16 December. Researchers should also note that the last Late Night Thursday of 2019 will be on 5 December and will resume on 9 January 2020.